What Pencil Are You Using Today?

[Estycollector]

That's an interesting piece. What size lead do you feed it?

 

--flatline

1.1 MM

 

https://www.legendaryleadcompany.com/

Edited April 27, 2020 by Estycollector

[Black Spot]

I have a palomino blackwing pencil that I was scribbling with today.

[aderoy]

Yard-o-led Perfecta Barley HB lead

[sandy101]

Cross Century rolled gold mechanical pencil it's an older model with 0.9mm lead - and very pleaasant to use.

[gweimer1]

I found that I have an old Moore pencil that has a really nice heft and feel to it, so I've been keeping that handy.

[Darkman]

My Yard-o-led Retro with Spoke models 4 and 5 on the side.

 

-dm

[flatline]

Staedtler Mars Technico 780 lead holder. I keep playing with other pencils, but this is the one I keep coming back to. Possibly my favorite pencil across all types.

[Zookie]

My granddaughter (8 yrs) got out my stash of Pentel Jolt pencils. She is fascinated with the fact that you shake them to advance the lead. She's gone home now, so I'm still busy using them.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Zookie

[flatline]

Do you like the shaker mechanism? I bought a 3-pack of the Zebra Z-Grip Plus shaker out of curiosity, but ended up removing the shaker weight to make it a regular clicky.

 

My kids, however, seem to love being able to advance the lead by shaking.

[Estycollector]

1927 Autopoint with Wet Noodle lead.

[Zookie]

Most shakers can also be advanced normally. I love them! Can't say why, I just do.

Today I'm using an old Scripto 4-47.

[PAKMAN]

Blackwing natural

[Conradandhispens]

conway stewart nippy number 3 is my go to pencil.

[MoriartyR]

I like pencils so I bought a box of Blackwings to see what the fuss is about, and they arrived today. I got the natural ones.

 

Honestly I am none the wiser. They just seem exactly like regular pencils to me, not magic pencils. I think the added length throws the balance off a bit. Also the erasers aren’t very effective. But it looks nice enough and if you want a pencil then this is undeniably a pencil.

[flatline]

Blackwings fill an unusual niche in the market. People who want a nice looking writing pencil (aka a pencil with an eraser on it) but also want a soft lead normally found only in art pencils don't have many options.

 

But I think the real appeal of Blackwings is that they simply ooze luxury. The thick glossy paint, the good smelling wood, the brass-like eraser housing, the bold dark lead. It all makes for a very elegant and appealing package. The real marketing genius is only selling them by the box, so people have to commit to a dozen rather than just buying one or two.

 

I bought a box of the 602 10 years ago and still have 3 or 4 left. I actually don't like them for general writing because the lead is too soft, but I always have one on my desk to use when the impulse arises. They also make great gifts.

[sandy101]

I like the Blackwings - like you said they are pretty pencils.

 

The Pearl, 602 and natural are all nice writing leads - and compared to most European pencils, they do feel a bit different. The Pearl looks like a 4B, the 602 2B and the extra hard lead a B.

 

To get the same shade - you have to move to art pencils and they smudge more than the Blackwings.

 

But, when you try other brands, with Japanese cores, you get a similar effect as the Blackwings. Tombow's Mono 100. Mistsubishi's Hi-Uni & Kitaboshi's HB 9606 (you must try them) are as good as, or better than the Blackwings.

 

Trouble is they are not as easy to find at a good price, unless you are prepared to import them from Japan.

 

I find Blackwings are great for doing heavy duty marking. I sharpen two or three of them and get an afternoon's marking done - and the lead is dark enough to show up on all manners of papers, and I don't have to worry about ink smearing. The length of the pencils means they last longer than other brands, and remain balanced.

[Zookie]

Nataraj Bold today.

[ScarletWoodland]

An orange Pilot Color Eno (actually in the pink pencil's body for some reason). I don't know why but it's become my favourite among the bazillion sketching pencils I own.

[eachan]

Uni Kuru Toga 0.5 and when I want a thicker line, a Staedtler 925 25-20.

[Estycollector]

1947 #168 Golden Rocket Autopoint